AGF’s Goldring Sees Institutional Business Doubling in 5 Years

Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- AGF Management Ltd., a Canadian
investment manager, plans to develop new products to attract
institutional investors in hopes of doubling that business
within five years, Chief Executive Officer Blake Goldring said.

The institutional business, along with sub-advisory and
high-net-worth assets, accounted for 48 percent of the company’s
C$36.4 billion ($35.1 billion) in assets under management as of
Aug. 31. It “is a huge area of growth and I expect it to be
many times the size it is today,” Goldring said in an interview
in Toronto.

The firm’s assets under management fell 12 percent in
August from the prior year, with the institutional portion
declining 15 percent to C$17.5 billion, according to the
company’s website.

AGF said in its second-quarter results that it had secured
mandates from two Canadian institutions and one in the U.K.
worth more than C$636 million in assets under management. The
company said it would take over management of those funds during
the current quarter.

Goldring said AGF is considering new funds that track so-called alternative investments such as derivatives or
currencies.

“Don’t be surprised if we come out with something in the
alternative space,” he said. “We have not had a product there
and it would serve the needs of a different clientele.”

Goldring declined to discuss details of any new investment
products, which will “possibly” be announced before the end of
the year.

AlphaSector Class

AGF in August unveiled a U.S. AlphaSector Class fund in
partnership with F-Squared Investments Inc. designed to benefit
from a rally in the U.S. economy, and has other products in the
pipeline, the executive said.

AGF’s stock has climbed 22 percent since the firm reported
second-quarter earnings on June 26 that surpassed analyst
estimates. The shares were down 0.1 percent to C$12.89 at 11:44
a.m. in Toronto.

Goldring said today he expected to continue paying a
quarterly dividend, which has held at 27 Canadian cents a share
since AGF last increased it in 2011.